First Seen

Starting Class

“Sire, my name is Arran. Once I was a captain to many knights... but, things changed, and I came to live here in this village. If you need warriors for the coming struggle, I would be honored to fight. Unfortunately, there has always been bad blood between this village and our neighbors. No doubt they closed their gates to you as soon as they saw you come here. You won't be able to recruit the hero Samson now, I'm afraid”—Arran in Shadow Dragon

Contents

Arran is a former knight captain living in Altea who went into hiding after Dolhr's take over. He can join Marth, but recruiting him bars the option of recruiting Samson, since he hides in a village which is constantly at conflict with its neighboring village. Nevertheless, even if he's not recruited, in the end of Marth's first quest, Arran was able to return to the ranks of the Altean Knights.

In Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, Arran took over Jagen's position as the protector of the new recruits in battle. However, he was struck with sickness, which makes his fighting prowess not as good as it was in the previous war, explaining his poor growth rates. Despite his illness, he insists on fighting, hoping to die in battle. At the end of the war, he finally succumbs to his illness and dies.

In Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, it is revealed in a support conversation with Kris that Arran was once a knight of another kingdom and slaughtered a group of peasants, revolting due to a bad winter harvest, at the request of his former lord. Arran was never able to forgive himself, and left the services of his former country, wandering in search of what being a knight truly means. In joining Marth's army, he had found his purpose, and resolved to fight in the War of Heroes until the end of his life; sacrificing himself for the sake of his honour as a knight.

Arran is recruited from the left village in Chapter 16. Recruiting Arran will result in the player not being able to recruit the Hero Samson from the neighboring village. A thief heads towards the two villages at the beginning of the level and must be intercepted in order to prevent the villages from being destroyed.

In Book 1, Arran's growth rates are respectable, making him a decent addition to a squad. However, due to the nature of the stat engine in FE3, Arran is at a disadvantage due to starting as a promoted Paladin compared to leveled up Cavaliers such as Cain or Abel. Arran starts with an Iron Lance and a Silver Sword, meaning it may be wise to dismount him or give him another weapon before sending him into combat.

In Book 2, Arran replaces Jagen in his character archetype. He starts as a promoted Paladin, more powerful than a player's other starting units but is unlikely to improve as he levels up. Just like Jagen, Arran's base stats and high movement is useful for the earlier chapters, particularly when weakening tough enemies or chasing down Thieves.

It is possible to improve his stats with Star Orb fragments but generally, most other Cavaliers and Paladins such as Rody or Sirius will overtake him.

When looking at his low stats, especially his growths, for a level 3 Paladin it's clear that his illness has taken an immense toll on him. But he still has some minor uses: he can be a filler Healer and Mage (preferably as a Sage) and comes with a free Silver Lance in the first Chapter of the game. But he can also serve as somewhat of a crutch in Maniac and Lunatic (reverse) mode when reclassed into a bulkier class like General or Berserker. Overall he has his uses but he is still this games' pure Jagen.